I really hate the family reunion shows, they always come across as so cheesy to me. I know it must be emotional to reunite with a loved one like that, but some of the reactions are just cringe worthy. Lisa, Skupkin and Denise actually had me laughing out loud. I don't know, I might just be heartless.

I don't think you're heartless, in fact, Lisa's was creepy as hell. Denise's didn't bother me, she's just a horny middle-aged sex therapist seeing her husband for the first time in a month. Skupin's was a little over-board but not horrible.

Shame that Carter was sent home but it was the smart move to make (other than sending Denise home).

Next immunity challenge will decide a lot, it Malcolm or Denise win then they will almost certainly make it to the final three but if they lose then Malcolm will have to win the final immunity challenge to make it. That's of course assuming that it's a final three and not a final two.

I haven't been following this season closely, but in general the family reunion shows are the worst and soooo overdone and fake. I always laugh when I see the faux-macho jocks sobbing like babies. I realize it's emotional, but what self-respecting grown man does that? When I saw my folks for the first time in two years after a stint in the peace corp I didn't act that way. I always fast-forward through any of that nauseating family-fluff stuff, so I'm with you steintym.

I think part of it is that sometimes players are trying to appear more sympathetic by reacting like that. If they just went "Hey, what's up?" with their loved ones then they might appear cold or less as a good person.

Then there is always the "play it up for the cameras" angle, biggest reaction gets the most screen time.

Shame that Carter was sent home but it was the smart move to make (other than sending Denise home).

Next immunity challenge will decide a lot, it Malcolm or Denise win then they will almost certainly make it to the final three but if they lose then Malcolm will have to win the final immunity challenge to make it. That's of course assuming that it's a final three and not a final two.

Malcom has the Idle he does not need to win the next challenge, but has to make sure Skupin does not.

Malcom has the Idle he does not need to win the next challenge, but has to make sure Skupin does not.

But if Malcolm doesn't win and neither does Denise then it's likely that Denise will be sent home. That means that in the final tribal he will go home unless he has the idol where has if he and Denise are both there then at worst it will be a split vote (assuming that Denise doesn't stab him in the back )

I haven't been following this season closely, but in general the family reunion shows are the worst and soooo overdone and fake. I always laugh when I see the faux-macho jocks sobbing like babies. I realize it's emotional, but what self-respecting grown man does that? When I saw my folks for the first time in two years after a stint in the peace corp I didn't act that way. I always fast-forward through any of that nauseating family-fluff stuff, so I'm with you steintym.

I would be too embarrassed to have my family show up. My brother isn't a people person and the most you would see from us is a head nod. My mom and girlfriend would probably cry , but I'd look like an ass for just smiling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyrminarrd

I think part of it is that sometimes players are trying to appear more sympathetic by reacting like that. If they just went "Hey, what's up?" with their loved ones then they might appear cold or less as a good person.

Then there is always the "play it up for the cameras" angle, biggest reaction gets the most screen time.

Yeah , I think Lisa had her game face on. She tries to seem really nice on camera. I'm sure she is a nice person for the most part , but I doubt she's that naive.

I don't like Abi , but it's interesting to see the outcast hold on for so long. I wouldn't call Malcolm , Denise , Skupin or Lisa heroes , but they could come back as favorites/ All stars. Abi is a villain no matter how hard she tries to deny it. I don't care to see her return though.

I thought it was the right move for Malcolm to pick Lisa and Skubin for the reward, even if they ended up plotting against him anyway. I loved the part where Malcolm said "I should've known they'd bond over Jesus." lol

Yeah, that "Sister! Sister!" thing WAS really weird!

__________________"Jesus had his day off when they pulled you through."
-Bruce Dickinson, Accident of Birth

Finally we get to see Abi removed from play. I'm surprised they made the decision not to vote off Denise but I think Abi had to have been such a cancer in life at the tribe's beach that it was worth the risk of keeping Denise to Malcolm, Lisa and Skupin to get rid of her.

Abi's ability to alienate herself continues to amaze me...calling Skupin an idiot and a moron and continually calling out Denise. She easily ranks in the top 5 worst people ever on Survivor.

I'm looking forward to the finale this year since I'm honestly in the dark on who will get the votes.
- Lisa has shown loyalty and has upped her strategic gameplay
- Denise has survived every tribal council, has been great physically and shown decent strategy (though she can be looked at as too much of a follower)
- Skupin is the one I don't see winning because he alienated alot of his own tribe with his "leadership". He was good in the challenges and played a good strategic game.
- Malcolm is the clear front runner; good strategy, well liked, physical powerhouse, etc. I'm not sure how many votes Lisa will pull away because of her Tandang loyalty though.

Lisa is the only 1 of the final 4 left I really don't want to see win but for some stupid reason feel she could pull it off. She claims to make big moves but really Skupin made the bigger move when he flipped and she decided to stay but then flips the next episode after it was obvious she wasn't in the majority. God I hope she don't win but this season has been damn good so far and with my luck will probably happen and ruin it for me.

Dumb move from Mike and Lisa. Doesn't matter if they go up against Malcolm or Denise, they're going to lose either way. Mike does not seem well-liked by the jury at all although he seems pretty delusional about that.

I think it'll come down to the last challenge. Whoever wins between Malcolm and Denise will vote the other one out and win the game.

__________________In life you have to do a lot of things you don't want to do. Many times, that's what life is - one vile task after another.

Dumb move from Mike and Lisa. Doesn't matter if they go up against Malcolm or Denise, they're going to lose either way. Mike does not seem well-liked by the jury at all although he seems pretty delusional about that.

I think it'll come down to the last challenge. Whoever wins between Malcolm and Denise will vote the other one out and win the game.

None of them want to go against Malcolm in the final so unless he wins immunity, he's gone. If that happens, you're right, I think Denise will end up winning.

Just watched the Survivor Ponderosa video with Abi's arrival. She received a decent welcome from pretty much everyone except RC. It was finally revealed to Abi that Pete pulled the con on Abi and RC with the idol/clue. Abi apologized but it was kind of half-a$$ed and definitely not accepted by RC.

The second video shows RC laying into Abi and telling her what a ***** and nasty person she is. Abi tried to say she wasn't really like that and she was just being that way because she wanted the money.

I enjoy the Ponderosa videos because it gives you an idea of what the people are like outside the game. Carter, Penner and Artis seem like decent people overall. RC is a really sore loser, Pete is a condescending, obnoxious prick and Kent is an unsociable, elitist snob. I'd have a difficult time not curb stomping a few of them if I was stuck there with them for weeks on end.

Just watched the Survivor Ponderosa video with Abi's arrival. She received a decent welcome from pretty much everyone except RC. It was finally revealed to Abi that Pete pulled the con on Abi and RC with the idol/clue. Abi apologized but it was kind of half-a$$ed and definitely not accepted by RC.

The second video shows RC laying into Abi and telling her what a ***** and nasty person she is. Abi tried to say she wasn't really like that and she was just being that way because she wanted the money.

I enjoy the Ponderosa videos because it gives you an idea of what the people are like outside the game. Carter, Penner and Artis seem like decent people overall. RC is a really sore loser, Pete is a condescending, obnoxious prick and Kent is an unsociable, elitist snob. I'd have a difficult time not curb stomping a few of them if I was stuck there with them for weeks on end.

Everyone forgots that RC tried to exclude Lisa early on in the game and was being a bit of a ***** herself. She's gotten a good edit. And Kent was famous as a baseball player for being a complete ******* and had little friends among his teammates. Still a hell of a player, but he's definitely a loner type.

The flip side is that people might respect you less if you do that, they'd say you made a bad play and therefore don't deserve to win.... And at the same time the strong player you spared might come out looking good for having managed to stay alive in the game.

Sorry to see Malcolm not make it but Denise was a pretty good alternative. I was worried there for a minute that Lisa was getting a little too much approval from the jury but I suppose I was looking too much into it.

All told, this was a great season and it's kind of brought me back into the fold. I'd lost the excitement for it over the past few years as the quality of contestants and overall production suffered. Here's to the hope for another great season next time.